High pressure jumping stick



Filed Feb. 10, 1965 J. B. GUIN HIGH PRESSURE JUMPING STICK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 -t X 1 gag/ 2 29 Nov. 7, 1967 v J. B. GUIN 3,351,342

HIGH PRESSURE JUMPING STICK Filed Feb. 10, 1965 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,351,342 HIGH PRESSURE JUMPING STICK Joel B. Guin, 148 E. 48th St., New York, N.Y. 10617 Filed Feb. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 432,078 4 Claims. (Cl. 272-57) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The high pressure jumping stick consists of two telescoping cylinders, the inner one touching the ground on its lower end and having a piston on its upper end which forces air upward through the annular chamber between the inner and outer cylinders into a compression sphere mounted upon and around the upper end of the cylinders. The user controls the flow of air into and out of this compression sphere by means of a novel three-way valve placed in a third cylinder extending from the outer cylinder to the outer wall of the sphere and operable by a wire extending from the inner piston of the 3-way valve to a finger lever hingeably attached to one of two handles mounted to the wall of the sphere. The user can build up high pressure by making a number of small leaps, or he can vent air into the sphere through an inlet valve from a compressed air source. By pressing the lever into the handle at the precise moment when one jump ends the user allows high pressure air from the sphere to enter the annular chamber between the cylinders; its expansion thereby forces the annular piston downward and the cylinders and sphere along with the jumper upward.

The high pressure jumping stick is a unique means for simulating the through-the-air movements of many popular sports. By careful use of the compressed air in the compression sphere the user can jump over 10 feet up or 30 feet forward. Sticks for use by children have means for adjusting the outlet valves to limit the maximum pressure in order to prevent injury. Since high-pressure air has many uses the compression sphere can be fitted with a special outlet valve leading into a short extension hose through which air can be vented to activate massagers, vibrators, toothbrushes, vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances, etc., and to inflate air mattresses, cushions, pillows, water-wings, swimming aids, beach toys, life rafts, inflatable furniture, or automobile tires. These and other uses will be obvious when the detailed description below is read in connection with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section along the main axis of a high pressure jumping stick;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section along line 22 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section 45 in dotted lines in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the compression sphere, wire channel and handle containing the activating lever;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the semi-automatic three-way valve within the compression sphere.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in section in FIG. 1, with pedals 32A and 328 at their upper limit. The jumping stick consists of two parts: a cylindrical part having shaft 4 inside outer cylinder 5, with upper annular piston 22 disposed in the annular chamber between, and chamber 1A, the space for-med within two hemispheres which are connected by screws 17. Two handles 3A and 3B extend horizontally from hemisphere 1. Handle 3A has an indentation 16 in which lever 14 moves around hinge 15. Wire 16, attached to lever 14 at one end, runs around roller 13, through hole 12 and over rollers 11 inside channel 9, then connects to valve 6. Cylinder 8 con taining valve 6 joins channel 9 with annular chamber 19 3,351,342 Patented Nov. 7, 1567 between cylinder 5 and inner shaft 4. Lower hemisphere 2 has two valves, 7A and 7B. Valve 7A is a conventional outlet for air to appliances and inflatable devices which may be attached thereto by conventional means, and can also serve as an inlet for high-pressure air from a compressor. Safety valve 7B leads to gua-ge 7C which can be adjusted to open the valve to let out all air above any given pressure to protect the young or the weak. Notches 22A and 22B in piston 22 help increase downward pressure for jumping.

The junction of the hemispheres is closed by seal 18A and the lower and upper intersections with cylinder 5 are closed by seals 18B and 18C respectively. Piston rings 23 are fitted around piston 22 the top of which is shaped to fit into the upper part of chamber 19. Inner cylinder 24 is fixedly attached above to piston 22 and penetrates annular piston 25 below, the latter impinging on catches 5A protruding from the wall of cylinder 5 when pedals 32 and 32A are at their upper limit as shown, cylinder 24 then continuing as cylinder 28. The lower end of shaft 4 is hollowed to contain springs 21 which are connected with piston 27; piston 27 is in turn connected to base 30 by shaft 29. Base 31 is covered by a rubber or plastic layer 31.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view from below taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1. Lower hemisphere 2 is pierced by cylinder 5 and connected to upper hemisphere 1 by screws 17. Handle 3A has along its underside an indentation 16 within which lever 14 turns on hinge 15 to pull wire 10 around roller 13.

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of section 3 in FIG. 1 showing details of openings 26 in lower annular piston 25 and the holes 27A in piston 27.

FIG. 4 is a top view of upper hemisphere 1 showing wire channel 9, handle 3A and the upper ends of cylinder 5 and shaft 4. Both hemispheres are joined by conventional attaching means 17 such as screws. Wire channel 9, having openings 9A and attached to hemisphere 1 by screws 32, is the path for wire 12 as it is pulled by lever 14.

The other end of wire 10 is attached to piston 38 of the three-way valve 6 located in valve cylinder 8, after passing from wire channel 9 into the cylinder, which penetrates hemisphere 1 and cylinder 5. Details are shown in FIG. 5. To avoid confusion in describing the three-way valve the word channel will be used to identify only those passageways parallel to cylinder wall 8 and the word passage will be used to identify only those passageways perpendicular to cylinder wall 8.

The three-way valve has four main parts:

(A) Piston 38 has a transverse passage 40A and inner channel 4%) which can be closed by shutter 46 which is movably attached to the piston by hinge 48, the shutter being closed by spring 47 attached to piston 38 by a screw, when the piston is pushed up by air from annular chamber 19;

(B) Closed cylinder 33, fixedly mounted in cylinder 8, is closed by a disc penetrated by channels 35 and has walls penetrated by passages 35C and 35D leading into passages 36 and 36A respectively in the wall of cylinder 8, the walls containing channels 37 and 37A which communicate with passages 35A and 35B at each end;

(C) Spring 4-1 between said disc closure and the inner end of piston 38; and

(D) Washer-like member 39 which is screwed into the lower end of closed cylinder 33.

When foot pedals 32 and 32A move down piston 22 moves upward in chamber 19 forcing aif into 3-way valve 6 in cylinder 8; shutter 46 closes o'tf center channel 40 forcing piston 38 against spring 41 till the lower end of piston 38 clears passages 350-36 and 35D-36A, allowing air to fiow through. (In each case the passage through the wall of cylinder 8 and the adjacent passage through closed cylinder 33 constitute one continuous passage.)

When pedals 32 and 32A move up annular piston 22 moves down in chamber 19 causing a vacuum which can be filled only with air from the outside (unless piston 38 is lifted, which the user would never need to do). Air is sucked through 3-way valve by way of channels 35, the the force of the air and of spring 41 returning piston 38 to the position in FIG. 5, thence through passages 35A, channels 37 and 37A, then through passages 35B and 40A into inner channel 40, in that order; this easily forces shutter 46 open so that air can pass through into annular chamber 19 between cylinder and shaft 4. The air that enters from the outside in this way is of course at only 14.7 p.s.i. (at seat level).

If the user wants extra pressure so as to lengthen or heighten his next jump he may use the high pressure air contained in chamber 1A, put there slowly through a number of short jumps during which spring 21 and his own bodily activity where the only lifting forces, or put there quickly by an outside compressor of conventional type, or from a compressed air container. At the precise moment when the jumper reaches the bottom of the previous jump, and just before it starts up on the next jump, he pulls wire by depressing handle 14; this prevents piston 38 from returning to its position in FIG. 5, leaving passages 35C-36 and 35D-36A unblocked, and permitting high-pressure air in chamber 1A to flow into chamber 19, thereby assisting in driving piston 22 downward, and thus propelling cylinder 5, pedals 32 and 32A and the jumper standing thereon, higher or farther on this jump. When lever 14 is not pressed at the end of one jump, passages SEC-36 and 35D-36A remain closed until higher pressure air from chamber 19 than that in chamber 1A unblocks them by forcing piston 38 upward (spring 47 having closed shutter 46). As chamber 19 becomes infinitesimally small due to the rising of the top of piston 22 into the top of chamber 19, the pressure in chamber 19 becomes extremely high, even in medium jumps.

I claim:

1. A high pressure jumping stick having as its main parts a compressed air container means including a spherical chamber, mounted upon an upright cylindrical part whose base is adapted to reach a supporting surface, said spherical chamber comprising:

two hemispheres made of strong durable material and attached to one another;

two handles mounted on opposite sides of the upper hemisphere, one handle having along its lower side an indentation in which is disposed a lever having one end movably attached to the handle;

a roller movably attached to the chamber near the inner end of said one handle through which a hole runs upward;

a cylinder for a valve, hereafter called a valve cylinder, penetrating said upper hemisphere above the handle intersecting, and leading to and penetrating the upper wall of said upright cylindrical part, said valve cylinder enclosing a three-way valve and having passages through its walls communicating with passages in the valve; and

a wire channel attached to said upper hemisphere and running from said one handle to the outer opening of said valve cylinder;

a wire attached to the movable end of said lever, leading over the roller, then through said hole and said wire channel into said valve cylinder where it is attached in order to make possible manipulation of said valve by the depression of the lever into the indentation;

and said upright cylindrical part comprising:

an outer cylinder penetrating said spherical chamber and penetrating both of said hemispheres at the center of the peripheries thereof, and extending downward therefrom;

two pedals mounted on opposite sides of said outer cylinder and normal thereto near its bottom;

a shaft centrally disposed within and extending the length of said outer cylinder, and having its lower part hollowed lengthwise to contain a spring of the compression type whose upper end is attached within and its lower end is attached to a piston movably disposed within the hollowed part; and

a shaft fixedly mounted on the underside of said piston and extending downward to the base of the jumping stick; and

upper and lower annular pistons disposed within the annular chamber between the outer cylinder and the shaft and joined fixedly by an inner cylinder mounted to the underside of the upper and passing through the lower annular piston, extending downward to said base, said base being covered with a resilient material.

2. A high pressure jumping stick as described in claim 1 wherein said wire is pulled by depressing said lever to manipulate said three-way valve and thus direct the flow of air into and out of said spherical chamber and annular chamber through air channels and passages (the former being parallel and the latter being perpendicular to said valve cylinder wall) running through the components of said three-way valve, said components and the location of said channels and passages being described as follows:

a closed cylinder fixedly mounted inside the valve cylinder with a disc penetrated by multiple channels closing one valve cylinder end and with walls pierced by channels connecting at one end with passages communicating with said disc channels, and at the other end with passages communicating with a transverse passage in the piston described next;

a piston movably disposed in said closed cylinder and penetrated by a transverse passage communicating at each end with said cylinder passages and in the center with a center channel the other end of which leads past a shutter into said valve cylinder, said shutter being movably attached to the piston by a hinge and being closed by a spring attached to the piston near the hinge;

a spring of the compression type disposed between said disc closure and the upper end of said piston for the purpose of returning it to a closed position after it has been pulled open by said wire; and

a washer-like member screwed into the lower end of the closed cylinder to hold said piston therewithin;

said channels and passages being thus arranged to direct air from the outside into said annular chamber as the pedals rise and the upper annular piston falls at the end of each jump, sucking air through the channels and passages, the piston shutter then being in the open position; to direct air from the annular chamber into the spherical chamber when said annular pistons rise in the annular chamber at the end of each jump, the spring closing said shutter and the forec of the air pushing said piston upward till it clears the passages from the valve into the spherical chamber; and to direct high pressure air from the spherical chamber when the user causes the wire to pull said piston to the open position where it unblocks the passages leading into the lower part of said valve cylinder, then into said annular space to help force down the annular pistons and thus increase power behind the next jump.

3. A high pressure jumping stick as described in claim 1 in which there is inserted within the wall of said lower hemisphere of the spherical chamber an inlet and outlet valve to let air from a compressor into the chamber and to vent high pressure air from the chamber into appliances and inflatable articles, using air tube connections, thus increasing the versatility of the invention.

4. A high pressure jumping stick according to claim 1 in which a guage and a safety valve coacting therewith are fixedly mounted within the wall of said lower hemisphere of the spherical chamber, the guage and valve being adjustable to any desired pressure above which excess air will be vented to the atmosphere, thus increasing the versatility with respect to use by the young and the weak with normal safety.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,351,847 9/1920 Gerhart 230-174 6 2,351,145 6/1944 Pearson. 2,865,633 12/1958 Woodall 27257 FOREIGN PATENTS 5 544,660 3/1958 Canada.

297,878 6/ 1954 Switzerland.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner.

10 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, ANTON O. OECHSLE,

Examiners.

L. I. BOVASSO, T. ZACK, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A HIGH PRESSURE JUMPING STICK HAVING AS ITS MAIN PARTS A COMPRESSED AIR CONTAINER MEANS INCLUDING A SPHERICAL CHAMBER, MOUNTED UPON AN UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL PART WHOSE BASE IS ADAPTED TO REACH A SUPPORTING SURFACE, SAID SPHERICAL CHAMBER COMPRISING: TWO HEMISPHERES MADE OF STRONG DURABLE MATERIAL AND ATTACHED TO ONE ANOTHER; TWO HANDLES MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE UPPER HEMISPHERE, ONE HANDLE HAVING ALONG ITS LOWER SIDE A INDENTATION IN WHICH IS DISPOSED A LEVER HAVING ONE END MOVABLY ATTACHED TO THE HANDLE; A ROLLER MOVABLY ATTACHED TO THE CHAMBER NEAR THE INNER END OF SAID ONE HANDLE THROUGH WHICH A HOLE RUNS UPWARD; A CYLINDER FOR A VALVE, HEREAFTER CALLED A VALVE CYLINDER, PENETRATING SAID UPPER HEMISPHERE ABOVE THE HANDLE INTERSECTING, AND LEADING TO AND PENETRATING THE UPPER WALL OF SAID UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL PART, SAID VALVE CYLINDER ENCLOSING A THREE-WAY VALVE AND HAVING PASSAGES THROUGH ITS WALLS COMMUNICATING WITH PASSAGES IN THE VALVE; AND A WIRE CHANNEL ATTACHED TO SAID UPPER HEMISPHERE AND RUNNING FROM SAID ONE HANDLE TO THE OUTER OPENING OF SAID VALVE CYLINDER; A WIRE ATTACHED TO THE MOVABLE END OF SAID LEVER, LEADING OVER THE ROLLER, THEN THROUGH SAID HOLE AND SAID WIRE CHANNEL INTO SAID VALVE CYLINDER WHERE IT IS ATTACHED IN ORDER TO MAKE POSSIBLE MANIPULATION OF SAID VALVE BY THE DEPRESSION OF THE LEVER INTO THE INDENTATION; AND SAID UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL PART COMPRISING: AN OUTER CYLINDER PENETRATING SAID SPHERICAL CHAMBER AND PENETRATING BOTH OF SAID HEMISPHERES AT THE CENTER OF THE PERIPHERIES THEREOF, AND EXTENDING DOWNWARD THEREFROM; TWO PEDALS MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID OUTER CYLINDER AND NORMAL THERETO NEAR ITS BOTTOM; A SHAFT CENTRALLY DISPOSED WITHIN AND EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF SAID OUTER CYLINDER, AND HAVING ITS LOWER PART HOLLOWED LENGTHWISE TO CONTAIN A SPRING OF THE COMPRESSION TYPE WHOSE UPPER END IS ATTACHED WITHIN AND ITS LOWER END IS ATTACHED TO A PISTON MOVABLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE HOLLOWED PART; AND A SHAFT FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID PISTON AND EXTENDING DOWNWARD TO THE BASE OF THE JUMPING STICK; AND UPPER AND LOWER ANNULAR PISTONS DISPOSED WITHIN THE ANNULAR CHAMBER BETWEEN THE OUTER CYLINDER AND THE SHAFT AND JOINED FIXEDLY BY AN INNER CYLINDER MOUNTED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE UPPER AND PASSING THROUGH THE LOWER ANNULAR PISTON, EXTENDING DOWNWARD TO SAID BASE, SAID BASE BEING COVERED WITH A RESILIENT MATERIAL. 